Perhaps the most famous thoroughfare in Dublin is Grafton Street. Immortalized by James Joyce, Christie Moore, U2 and (more lately) the touching musical romance movie “Once”, this eclectic street stretches from verdant St. Stephen’s Green in the south to Trinity College (one of the world’s great seats of learning), and the River Liffey to the north. A few steps west of Grafton St. lies Wicklow St., the heart of Dublin’s historical arts district, and home of Cornucopia, one of Dublin’s few vegetarian and highly vegan-friendly restaurants.

We visited Cornucopia on a warm autumn evening, and immediately fell in love with the place, despite being initially disappointed with a loooong queue of people waiting inside the door. You see, Cornucopia is counter service and buffet-style, so one has to stand in a line, order from a server and then take a tray to a vacant table – if you can find one. I personally find places with this setup a little stressful – I mean, when you arrive you have no idea how long it will take to get served, and when you’re being served you’re worried about if you can find a place to sit and eat – otherwise you’ll be left standing with a heavy tray attempting to rush to a vacant table, trampling other human beings like some post-apocalypic feeding frenzy.

OK, I got carried away there, but you get the idea. Let’s now talk about the food.

Sweet Potato, Pea, and broccoli Dahl with organic brown rice, garden greens, and sprouted beans. €12.95

Cornucopia is very, very vegan-friendly as most dishes in the buffet are vegan and clearly marked as such. The staff are also knowledgeable about everything – including the veganocity of the bread and other condiments.

We went for a sweet potato and pea dahl main dish (comes with two salads for €12.95 – about $18), a bowl of tomato fennel and tarragon soup for €3.45 ($4.50) and a medium mix of four salads for €7.95 (about $10).

Tomato Fennel and Tarragon Soup. €3.45

While these might be eye-popping prices, one has to take into account the exchange rate and generally more expensive cost of living in Dublin (petrol/gasoline is about $12.30 a gallon at the time of writing).

Four Salad Combo with mixed greens, garlic potatoes with roasted hazelnuts, soaked barley, and spaghetti with rocket. €7.95

We found everything to be of the highest quality – nicely prepared, and freshly served. Indeed, they were rotating dishes frequently in the serving deli cabinet, indicating that things were being prepared in the kitchen just in time for being served. To that end, nothing tasted “heat lamped” and the salads were as fresh and crunchy as you could imagine. This “just in time” process unfortunately meant that as one approached the counter the thing you wanted might not be available – and there would be a wait (on top of the long wait you’d already had to get served).

This was exacerbated the following day when we returned for the the vegan breakfast (the only such thing in all of Ireland that we could determine) but were told (after queueing up) that they had just run out of vegan items and we’d have to wait 45 minutes for the deli to be replenished.

Needless to say, we didn’t wait!

On the positive side, they serve organic wines (although why you’d want to drink alcohol anywhere other than some of the best pubs in the world right outside the door eludes me), and they had a blues/jazz guitarist playing music in one corner. I kinda felt sorry for him, as he was taking up space where one could easily fit a four-top table (a scarcity in the restaurant) and people were crowded around him while he was trying to be heard through the din of chatter and eating.

Cornucopia is a lovely restaurant, but the demand way outstrips their ability to supply the food on a consistent basis, and the overcrowded nature of the establishment is a little uncomfortable – when we sat down to eat, a couple stood next to our table ready to pounce on it as soon as we left.

Get Rich Quick Scheme: Open a vegan restaurant in Dublin. The demand must be so great.

Cornucopia
19 Wicklow St
2, Co. Dublin, Ireland
01 6777583
Open Mon-Sat 9am-6pm